The Alpha's Mate

Chapter Seven

Branson Williams

A shoe flies, hitting the wall beside the front door as I open it. "You did what?" Dad's voice is loud. I glance over my shoulder at my siblings and mate. Then I step inside.

"He has to learn to defend himself, Zeke. We talked about this. You agreed" Pops sighs, as dad storms into the hallway, his eyes blazing with anger.

"We talked about him going to training today. About him doing what he could. About him staying for half of it. Not the full three hours!" Dad bends down, taking off his other shoe and throwing it directly at Pops.

"Lay and Bran do it, constantly. You don't act like this when they do" Pops sighs, leaning against the wall. They know where we are, but they dont look at us.

"Xan isn't them Peyton. You know that. He knows that." Dad has tears now, and Pop's body stiffens.

Xan is scooting past us, and instantly at dads side cupping his face.

"I'm fine. It was tough, but I did it. I threw up, and I'm half dead. But I did it. I did something normal" Xan has tears going down his face now. "I did it" he whispers again, and dad nods before glancing over his body.

"You're bleeding"

"I'm clumsy" he whispers, and dad nods.

"Let's make sure you don't have any bad cuts, '' dad adds, pulling Xan along with him. Pops looks at us, his eyes roaming over us all.

Then he turns on his heel, following his mate. Likely to make up for making him cry. Poor dad.

I make my way upstairs, and take a quick shower before getting dressed in loose sweats and a hoodie. Our house is normally cooler, so I try to stay warm. About an hour later, I'm in my room on my phone when Xan knocks.

He steps inside, coming in and sitting on my bed. He glances at me, and I set my phone down while sitting up. "What's up?" I ask, flicking my eyes over him.

"Noah's still here" he scoots back in my bed, leaning against the wall.

"Yeah" I know, my wolf is pissed. He's blocking me off right now, and I swear Noah's scent's so strong it's like he's in my room.

"Want to watch something?" he asks, and I shrug. Grabbing the remote for my tv, I toss it to Alexander, he smiles small and flips through our streaming apps until he settles on one. He finds something scary, and we spend the majority of the day doing that. Watching scary movies.

—

Something is shaking me. I'm so fucking cozy though. My eyes flutter open, and my mate comes into view. Slowly, I sat up. Xan is next to me, curled up with his mouth open as he sleeps.

"Your dad said you guys gotta eat at the pack house tonight. Layla and I are about to walk over" Noah's voice is clipped, but it's soft.

"Lemme wake him" I murmured, shoving at Xan's shoulder. He whines, turning on his back. "Xan" I rasp, shoving him again. His eyes flip open, and he looks confused.

"What?" he whispers, his eyes landing on Noah for a second before coming back to me.

"We fell asleep, come on. Lay and Noah are walking to the pack house for dinner." Slowly, I got out of bed. I'm still in my sweats, so I'm ready to go. I slip on my shoes as Xan slowly climbs out of bed. He's smaller than most, and he wears baggy clothes for the most part. He has a sweater on, with sweats. He rubs his temples, and then murmurs.

"Gotta get my meds, see you down stairs" and then he's leaving the room. Turning towards the door, Noah steps in front of me.

"We should go for a run after dinner," he says.